OU faculty favorites

Professors share their top picks for places to visit across the state

SILAS BALES

silasbales@ou.edu

“My family goes to Lake Thunderbird quite often, and we hike the golden trails. There’s a little less than 20 miles or so around Lake Thunderbird, and once you really get into them, they’re quite remarkable. The Golden Loop is the trail that we frequent, but there are a number that are really great. It’s nice that it’s only a 15 minute drive from campus.”

“The Chickasaw Cultural Center is a really fun place to go and experience. There’s lots of buildings to visit and (the center) is not just something to see, but you really feel like you are absorbed into the culture. The people at the center are very nice, and I think it’s a place that not many people have visited. Not only the center itself, but the surrounding nature is really beautiful.”

HANNAH RYSTEDT hannah.e.rystedt-1@ou.edu

Mother Road Market

Mother Road Market, Oklahoma’s first and only non-profit food hall, takes a large variety of restaurants and retail businesses and puts them all under one roof. With 14 restaurants, a full-service bar and a food truck out back, Mother Road Market has no shortage of flavor.

There’s no need to choose only one cuisine as the food hall has a unique array of options to satisfy every palate. Pick up an appetizer at Da Yolk, an entree at 1907 Barbeque and a dessert at Big Dipper Creamery. Mother Road Market provides countless combinations.

Located along Route 66, the food hall features popup shops, handmade baked goods and mini golf in the patio area. There is indoor and outdoor seating, with plenty of room for games and large group outings.

Mother Road Market is a development of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation, which provides locally owned, independent businesses a low barrier entry into the food service industry. Carly Fussell, public affairs strategist for Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation, said their goal has always been to serve the Tulsa community in the best way possible.

“We started Mother Road Market to give startup entrepreneurs a place to test and scale their business,” Fussell said.

Mother Road Market houses “Takeover Café,” a daily rotating pop-up restaurant, each with different concepts like Venezuelan arepas or gluten-free chicken and waffle bowls.

“Every single day there’s a different restaurant, and that’s what excites (visitors), because maybe they’ve